Just how much would you pay to go into space? $12000 for a satellite plus launch, like me? Or perhaps... $300 to build a high-altitude balloon camera? Or, if $300 is too high, how about getting a…

Today I wish to bring to your attention a figure recently obtained by the CDF collaboration, one which really tells a thousand words. Before I describe it to you, however, I would like to discuss at…

The first (intended to be annual)[1] Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism was held on Saturday, sponsored by the New England Skeptical Society and the New York City Skeptics. The…

Scientific Name Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) Willd. ( B. arundinacea (Retz.) Roxb.; syn. B. bambos Druce) Family Poaceae Used Part Bamboo manna. Distribution Area Distributed throughout the…

Seriously? The film [Creation] was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to…

Like many institutions, the University of Guelph is hosting a series of events in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of…

Scientific Name Woodfordia fruticosa (L.)Kurz. (W. fruticosa Kurz syn. W.floribunda Salisb.) Family Lythraceae Used Part Flowers. Distribution Area A shrub, commonly occurring…

Lucrative alternative All this, says Ibrahim, is good news for Malawi, where most people live on less than US$1 a day. He says jatropha could be a lucrative alternative to tobacco, Malawi's…

Folk Medicine According to Hartwell, the extracts are used in folk remedies for cancer. Reported to be abortifacient, anodyne, antiseptic, cicatrizant, depurative, diuretic, emetic, hemostat,…

Out of the total 4,20,000 flowering plants reported from the world Govaerts, 2001) more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes (Schippmann, Leaman and Cunninghan, 2002). In India, more than 43%…

A mystery of evolution is why an extra chromosome can be common across plants and animals yet have such drastically different results.    A human with an extra chromosome may have Down…

Contrary to short-term consensus beliefs, El Niño has not been getting stronger because of global warming, says  Benjamin Giese, a professor of oceanography at Texas A&M who specializes in…

"How smart are squid?" I get this question a lot, and I always hedge the answer. The obvious dodge, of course, is to say: what does "smart" really mean and how would you quantify it in a cephalopod?…

Astrid Skreosen worked for many years as an auxiliary nurse in the maternity ward in Skien Hospital and became fed up with the little mats which were supposed to lie under women who were giving birth…

An international team of researchers say they have discovered a blueprint for a general understanding of the evolution of the "machinery" of our cells providing more evidence, at the molecular level,…

Scientific Name Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.= T. cuneata Roth Family Combretaceae Used Part Bark. Distribution Area A large, evergreen tree, common in most parts of India.…

Scientific Name Operculina turpethum (Linn.) Silva Manso syn. Ipomoea turpethum R. Br. Family Convolvulaceae Used Part Stem. Distribution Area A large perennial twiner in Himalayan, Madesh,and…

Scientific Name Cyanodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. Family Poaceae Used Part Whole grass. Distribution Area The grass grows throughout India ascending up to 8,000 ft. Common Uses The plant is…

The Cassini spacecraft's Magnetospheric Imaging instrument (MIMI) has detected a temporary radiation belt around Dione, one of the moons of Saturn.  The discovery will be presented at the…

Scientific Name Carthamus tinctorius Linn. Family Asteraceae. Used Part Flowers. Distribution Area Cultivated throughout India. As an oilseed crop, safflower is cultivated in the states of…